Never Let Friends Damage Your Job Search

Your friends may have the best intentions for you and may support you a hundred percent, but when it comes to getting ready for a career that you are interested in, it makes sense not to rely on friends who will be there to support you through thick and thin but know nothing about the career choice you are about to make.

CV Assistance: When applying for a certain type of job you have to tailor make your resume to fit the profile of the job you are applying for. It makes sense to seek the help of people who have some experience in the domain as opposed to asking your friends with no experience with help for your CV.

Take charge: Often, only out of concern your friends may get excited about your interview process and take charge of the process of preparation. Do ensure that you do not let that come in your way of collecting information that is needed to secure the job you have wanted.
Be serious: If you have got an interview call from a company you have been wishing to get into, you cannot afford to take it lightly. You have to be serious and tell your friends that you are preparing for your interview if they seem to be distracting you from achieving your dream job.

As said earlier, your friends may indeed have the best intentions at heart for you, however if they are not streamlined with the career choice you are making, then you may be wasting time and making a few wrong choices. Be sure of what you want, and be sure to accept the right advice.

Perfecting the Art of Group Discussions

In order to master the art of group discussions, you have to first understand, what it is that the panel is looking to get out of this exercise. Once you know what they are looking for you can tailor your behaviour accordingly. The objective of a group discussion is to assess the qualities of leadership, communication skills, creativity, assertiveness, initiative and most of all teamwork.

A few things that you need to work on in order to make your presence felt in a group discussion are detailed below:

a) Awareness: Even before you step into a GD you have to prepare yourself by brushing up on the current affairs in the country and around the world. You cannot anticipate the debate topic that is going to be thrown at you, so you have to have a fair knowledge about everything that is currently happening.

b) Time: Yes, the panel is judging you on initiative and you have an advantage if you start off the group discussion, but make sure you do not come across as someone who does not know what they are talking about simply because you want to start, take time, put your thoughts together and then chip in.

c) Lead the team: The panel is looking for leadership qualities, so most people in the group discussion will try and lead the team. You have to maintain balance, by being assertive and steering the discussion in a meaningful direction.

d) Agitation: Do not raise your voice, there will be a lot of noise around you as people will want to be heard, however, make sure you do not add to the commotion, but work towards making your team mates discuss the matter in a civilized manner.

e)  Body Language: Do not get carried away with the topic of discussion and forget your etiquette. Maintain good posture and do not slouch or raise your finger towards another person. Also focus on the people around you and do not look at the panel.

f) Conclusion: Remember that you have a set time limit to arrive at a conclusion and hence you should make an effort to make a list of points as to the conclusions of your debate at least a minute before you are supposed to end the debate. Structure your thoughts and make sure your conclusion includes every ones viewpoint.

Think Twice Before you Hunt for a Job

While some people get overly paranoid about finding a job once they graduate from college, there are others who are laid back and will only start the process of looking for a job once they are back from their planned vacation after they graduate. It is actually important not to be too laid back and not to get too excited when it comes to job hunting.

There is a right time for everything and even when it comes to looking for a job you need to strategically plan your moves. Ideally when you are just about to graduate your placement committee will help you participate in a number of job interviews and discussions, depending of course upon which companies pick you for the process.

Do not start applying for jobs independently mid-year if you have a dedicated placement team working as well. Wait, be patient, you can discuss your plans with the placement committee and let them know what you wish to pursue. However, once you have, just wait and be patient.

If you do not get selected after a round of interviews through college, you can always choose to take on a job as a volunteer with a small company to gain some experience and put it on your CV. Koozba has a number of listings for job opportunities all through the year and you can easily start hunting for a job when you have a CV you can be proud of.

What Should be Your Choice: Fat Salary or Fitter Job?

More often than not students and fresh graduates are swayed away with the promise of hefty packages. However what most people do not realise is that there is no scope of growth and often one may start with a hefty package but in terms of growth and in terms of adding value to one’s set of skills nothing will be achieved. 

 

Comparison: When you are offered a job you need to understand what you are capable of, do not sell yourself shot and take up a job that will offer you the money at the start but will not offer you scope for growth. Compare the offer with the job profile. And only if it makes you happy and you can see a bright future and potential for honing your skills take it up.

Starting salary: If you are a fresher with no prior work experience you must understand that companies often have slabs for people who are freshers and those who have work experience. At the start of your career your salary will be low but if you have potential and you prove your mettle, there is no limit to which you can grow.

Picking the right job is very important; you do not want to be stuck with a job that offers you money but no job satisfaction. A number of people in our country suffer because they do not achieve growth in their careers simply because they made one small mistake at the beginning. So be careful and only pick a job if it offers you scope for growth. 

What Will Be the Hot Jobs of 2018 and beyond?

Parents insisted a few years ago that children take up the much treaded path of medicine and engineering to get jobs and secure their futures. However, with time things have changed and no longer do parents pressurize their children to take up a profession that may not suit them. The reason being today, there are a number of other opportunities available that can be equally rewarding. Let’s take a look at the hot jobs of 2018 and beyond so that you can make an informed decision about your academics. 

Even though the pressure is low on medicine and engineering, the highest paying jobs are bound to be in this area. It is estimated that there will be a requirement of graduates in more unconventional streams of engineering such as biochemical engineering for health care innovation. The coming decade puts a lot of emphasis on health care with physicians and psychologists being in demand.

It is important to know that all these predictions are based on the information we have today and the projections of a few years from now, however technological advancements can give rise to a number of other job opportunities as well. A few other jobs that are on the hot list also include financial auditors, dental assistants and computer software engineers for applications.

Why Koozba experts Recommend Small Companies

Small organizations can offer you the same benefits today that large Multi National Companies can. Of course the only difference will be in economies of scale and the name of the company on your CV. However, if your ultimate dream is that of working with a large organization, it would help if you take on a job or a summer or winter internship with a small company to hone your skills.

According to Koozba experts, small organizations are always in the need for assistance and take on volunteers on a regular basis to help with them administrative and other duties. By identifying small companies in the field you are interested in, and working with them for a few months and give you enough experience to put in your CV as industry interface and skills acquired.

A small company allows you to understand the industry and allows you to make an informed choice with regards to if this career option is perfect for you. When you work in a small organization you also have the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them so that you can apply them at the larger organization.

In fact the truth is that once you work with a small organization and start enjoying the culture there you may not want to leave and develop a sense of belonging towards the same. Both have their pros and cons, you simply need to decide what makes you happy.

IT companies to implement bond to retain talent - Students say no

High attrition rates have forced IT companies to introduce a bond while recruiting students from various colleges across the country. A failure to stay with the organization with the committed term would lead the employee to dish out the sum agreed to in the bond. Not many applicants are happy about the bond and in fact IITs across the country have refused to entertain organizations that come with a prerequisite of a bond. IIT-M academic affairs secretary Anuraag NVS, had the following to say on the introduction of bonds “Most candidates are not signing any bonds. We tell the companies that they need to incentivise students to work for them.”

Students today are very experimental and sticking with a company for more than two years unless they see scope for growth is unimaginable. Students are not averse to joining a small organization that allows their skills to be tested and offers them a hefty pay package. The brand of the organization matters, but when an opportunity comes their way that provides them with job satisfaction and good pay, the brand name can be ignored.

While companies state that the bond is a good idea because this way they can ensure that the time and energy they spend in training their employees is not a waste, students beg to differ. Companies like Wipro, Infosys, Satyam and TCS have all introduced bonds for freshers, but it has unfortunately been met with a lot of scepticism. To clarify the introduction, an Infosys spokesperson defended the bond by saying, "We make huge investments, both in terms of money and time, on our new recruits.” Last year Infosys spent $175 million dollars on training fresher, singing a bond now, doesn’t seem like so much to ask.

Wipro requires students to put down Rs 75000 as fixed deposit and failure to stick with the company for an agreed period of time would simply transfer the money to the company from the bank FDR. A fresher at Satyam said, “I had to take a loan of Rs 2 lakh for my bond amount. I have been working for almost a year now and continue to pay Rs 2,500 per month as interest on my two-year loan.”

The economy has picked up over the last one year and employment opportunities are increasing, students no longer want to be treated as bonded labour and wish to remain free and change their jobs as and when they please.

The days of loyalty and patronage to one’s organization have long gone, if you dangle a golden carrot in front of an employee, he will follow you and will leave you just as easily when another more lucrative carrot comes his way. The introduction of bonds may not be the best way to retain talent, as talent will not pick up a job knowing that they are bound to a company that does not offer them job satisfaction.